Notting Hill racer Jack Aitken recovered from a rocky start to salvage his weekend in the the third round of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship at the Moscow Raceway.
Aitken was forced to retire in the opening race but managed a 12th place drive in his second outing at the Moscow Raceway.
The 18-year-old finished his final A Level examinations last week, and celebrated by flying to Russia to join his Fortec team mates at the third World Series by Renault event.
The 28-car field began with two practise sessions on the Friday but Aitken’s Fortec FR2.0/13 by Tatuus car was showing signs of problems.
Problems appeared to grow in the first qualifying session and the team was forced to make electrical repairs before Saturday’s race.
Despite the changes, the car finally gave up coming to a complete halt during lap four of the 18 scheduled laps.
Aitken admitted: “The weekend really started in earnest on Sunday morning. I had very little running on Friday due to the engine issue and it finally gave up at the start of race one on Saturday.”
An overnight engine change brought distinct improvement.
He completed second qualifying on the Sunday morning, finishing in 14th and went on to finish the second race in 12th position, making up a satisfactory two places after such a major operation.
Aitken added: “After the team changed the engine in my car overnight, the difference in it's handling was instantaneous.
“I have a good platform to build on for the second half of the season and now that school is over, I can really focus on my career.”
Aitken is participating in the next round of Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS series, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy on July 5 to 6 as a Fortec Motorsport wild card entry.
The next round of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship takes place at the Nürburgring, Germany, on July 12 to 13.
